Here are details of those stories, plus others we have in the works for today and notable pieces that we sent in the past 10 hours (all times EDT):

WORLD

UN-REFUGEES -- For the first time since the World War II era, the number of people forced from their homes worldwide surges past 50 million, the United Nations refugee agency says. SENT: 500 words, photos. UPCOMING: Developing.

IRAQ -- Iraq's Shiite prime minister, embattled by the militant offensive sweeping his country's north, faces a growing campaign to force him out of office as insurgents press on with their campaign. SENT: 1,140 words, photos. UPCOMING: Developing.

IRAQI IMMIGRANTS-COPING WITH FEAR -- Many Iraqi immigrants in the United States who risked their lives to escape the country's past wars fear they may never hear from those they left behind now that violence is sweeping their homeland again. SENT: 850 words, photos, video.

MYANMAR-CABINET SHAKEUP -- The chief minister of Myanmar's Rakhine state that has been embroiled in sectarian violence retires and the country's religious affairs minister has been fired. SENT: 450 words.

UKRAINE -- Seven Ukrainian troops are killed in overnight fighting in the restive east, Ukrainian officials say, as clashes between government forces and pro-Russian rebels flare two days after the president said he would soon call a unilateral cease-fire. SENT: 580 words, photos.

SYRIA-RETURN TO HOMS -- Syrians begin trudging back into the Old City of Homs, where they dig among the ruins for the remains of lives shattered by heavy fighting and a grinding two-year siege that finally forced rebels to withdraw last month. SENT: 920 words, photos.

-SYRIA -- A powerful car bombing in a government-held village in central Syria kills at least 34 civilians and wounds more than 50 others. SENT: 460 words, photo.

VATICAN CITY-POPE-POT -- Pope Francis condemns the legalization of recreational drugs as a flawed and failed experiment, lending his voice to a debate which is raging from the U.S. to Uruguay and beyond. SENT: 300 words, photos.

DENMARK-SYRIA-ABDUCTION -- A Danish freelance photographer who had been held captive for 13 months in Syria is released. SENT: 240 words.

NEPAL-SHERPAS -- The legendary Sherpas are shying away from their risky mountaineering jobs and moving to cities in Nepal and abroad seeking better lives after being shaken by an avalanche in April that was the mountain's deadliest disaster. SENT: 780 words, photos.

-MYANMAR-MONASTERY DISPUTE -- Five Buddhist monks who were evicted from their monastery in a property dispute appear in court in a case linked to the dismissal of the country's religious affairs minister. SENT: 390 words.

HONG KONG-DEMOCRACY VOTE -- Tens of thousands of Hong Kongers vote in an unofficial referendum on democratic reform that has alarmed Beijing and sets the stage for a possible showdown with the government, with mass protests aimed at shutting down the Chinese capitalist enclave's financial district. SENT: 410 words, photos.

JAPAN-SEX SLAVES -- The study that led Japan to apologize in 1993 for forcing Asian women into wartime prostitution is confirmed as valid by a parliament-appointed panel after South Korea and China slammed the review as an attempt to discredit historical evidence of such abuses. SENT: 570 words, photos.

PHILIPPINES-CORRUPTION -- A popular Filipino senator and action movie star surrenders after an anti-graft court ordered his arrest on large-scale corruption charges in a rare spectacle of the country's political elite being made to answer for alleged crimes. SENT: 670 words, photos.

CHINA-CORRUPTION -- China's latest anti-graft investigation is raising questions about the fate of the former president's top aide, whose political ascent was hurt by a lurid scandal involving his alleged cover-up of his son's death in a speeding Ferrari. SENT: 650 words.

MALAYSIA-PLANE -- The next phase of the underwater search for the missing Malaysian passenger jet will focus on an area of the Indian Ocean hundreds of miles south of the first suspected crash site. SENT: 420 words.

SKOREA-SHIP SINKING-COURT HEARING -- Prosecutors say the CEO and four employees of the operator of a sunken South Korean ferry caused the accident by overloading the ship with poorly stowed cargo after a risky redesign and neglecting safety by spending less than $2 last year on crew training. SENT: 710 words, photos.

JAPAN-NUCLEAR -- Two Japanese farmers whose livelihoods were wrecked by the 2011 nuclear disaster stage a protest at Tokyo's agriculture ministry, scuffling briefly with police as they unsuccessfully try to unload a bull from a truck. SENT: 450 words, photos.

CHINA-EXTREMISM ONLINE -- China announces a crackdown on Internet content promoting terrorism and violence that has been blamed for inspiring a recent string of deadly attacks by Islamic extremists seeking independence for the northeastern region of Xinjiang. SENT: 270 words.

CUBA-FIDEL'S LIMOS -- For years Fidel Castro had a fleet of black, boxy, Soviet-made limousines that were used to ferry visiting dignitaries and sometimes el comandante himself. Today they've been decommissioned and repurposed as taxi cabs, at the service of tourists who want a little slice of history to go with their ride across town. UPCOMING: 550 words by 1800 GMT photos, video.

WEST AFRICA-EBOLA -- West Africa Ebola outbreak is 'totally out of control,' more help needed: Doctors Without Borders. SENT: 690 words.

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS -- Israeli army kills two Palestinians, wounds two during West Bank raids in search for missing teens. SENT: 600 words, photos.

KENYA-VIOLENCE -- Kenya's Interior Ministry says security forces have shot and killed five people suspected of killing 60 residents in two nighttime attacks on a coastal town this week. SENT: 130 words.

GERMANY-US-NAZI INVESTIGATION -- Bavarian prosecutors say it's too early to tell when an 89-year-old Nazi war crimes suspect could be extradited from the U.S. to Germany for trial. SENT: 280 words, photo.

WASHINGTON & POLITICS

UNITED STATES-IRAQ-ANALYSIS -- The restrained American military aid now being offered to defend Baghdad against a ferocious Sunni insurgency reaffirms the Obama administration's mantra that Iraq is still largely on its own. SENT: 1,010 words, photos.

REPUBLICAN TURMOIL -- Kevin McCarthy is a new face of the GOP, selected by House Republicans as their majority leader after a whirlwind round of politicking prompted by last week's primary election upset of Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia. SENT: 840 words, photos.

WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN -- Josh Earnest comes to the job of White House press secretary with a reputation for Midwestern affability and a style of relating to the media that's more honey and less vinegar. SENT: 710 words, photos. UPCOMING: Press briefing at 1 p.m.; 850 words by 2:30 p.m., photos.

OBAMA-GAY RIGHTS -- Obama moves to ensure employees can take leave from work to care for ill same-sex spouses. SENT: 270 words, photo.

GREAT WHITE SHARKS -- A report that scientists are calling one of the most comprehensive studies of great white sharks finds their numbers are surging in the ocean off the Eastern U.S. and Canada after decades of decline. UPCOMING: 500 words by 1700 GMT, photos.

DOW 17,000 -- After treading water for most of March and April, stocks are nudging deeper into record territory and are closing in on some milestones with big zeroes attached to them. The Dow Jones industrial average is within 150 points of 17,000 while the Standard & Poor's 500 is just shy of 2,000. UPCOMING: 950 words by 1800 GMT, photos.

WALL STREET -- U.S. stock markets are rising in morning trading, and major stock indexes are set to close out the week with solid gains. UPCOMING: 700 words by 2100 GMT.

STATE UNEMPLOYMENT -- The government reports on state unemployment rates for May. UPCOMING: 130 words after 10 a.m. release of report; 300 words by 1700 GMT.

WORLD CUP -- ALSO SEE SEPARATE WORLD CUP DIGEST

WCUP-ROUNDUP -- Italy plays Costa Rica in a game that could send England home and clinch Italy's spot in the knockout round. Switzerland plays France in a battle of European unbeatens, and Honduras plays Ecuador with both teams are trying to stay alive. UPCOMING: 800 words, photos by 2200 GMT.

WCUP-SYRIA-OPPOSITION TEAM -- Over the past year, a group of Syrian refugees, all former professional soccer players and members of the national youth team in the war-wrecked country, came together in neighboring Lebanon to execute an ambitious task: form an opposition team in exile that would become Syria's national team after the fall of President Bashar Assad's government. UPCOMING: 900 words by 1900 GMT, photos, video.

WCUP-MOTIVATING ANTHEMS -- Stop the music if you want! Fans keep singing national anthems after FIFA cuts them short. SENT: 740 words, photos.

WCUP-FACEBOOK -- Through one week of the World Cup, Facebook has already seen more people having more interactions about the tournament on the social media site than it had for the Sochi Olympics, Super Bowl and Academy Awards combined. UPCOMING: 370 words, photo.

WCUP--SALVADOR-SHIRT -- German 1934 World Cup football shirt with swastika raises some eyebrows in Brazil. SENT: 490 words, photos.

SPORTS

WOMEN'S OPEN -- Top-ranked Stacy Lewis has a one-shot lead over Michelle Wie going into the second round of the U.S. Women's Open at Pinehurst No. 2, the same but shorter course used by the men a week ago. Sixth-grader Lucy Li held her own most of the way in the first round in shooting a 78. UPCOMING: 750 words, photos by 2330 GMT.

ENTERTAINMENT

MICHAEL JACKSON-FIVE YEARS LATER -- Five years after Michael Jackson's untimely death at age 50, the singer remains a pop culture powerhouse, proving to be just as big a moneymaker in death as in life. SENT: 890 words, photos.

CELEB-LET GIRLS LEARN -- Jennifer Garner, Susan Sarandon, Alicia Keys, Anne Hathaway, Tyler Perry and pro basketball player DeAndre Jordan are among the stars speaking out about the importance of education for girls around the globe in an online video for the new Let Girls Learn initiative. SENT: 450 words, photos.

TRACY MORGAN-ACCIDENT -- A report by federal transportation safety investigators says a truck driver was speeding before he slammed into a limousine van, killing one man and seriously injuring comedian Tracy Morgan and two other passengers, and it has raised new questions about the trucker's work schedule. SENT: 570 words, photos.